Yes, Virginia, Meditators Really Do Have Bigger Brains

Researchers at the Laboratory of Neuro Imaging at UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, looked at the possible links in the brain that could cause the connection between meditation practice and psychological, physiological and cognitive well-being.

Using high-resolution MRI data of 44 subjects, they set out to examine the underlying anatomical correlates of long-term meditation. (For those with a technical interest, they used voxel-based morphometry in association with a recently validated automated parcellation approach.)

They detected significantly larger gray matter volumes in meditators
in the right orbito-frontal cortex (as well as in the right thalamus
and left inferior temporal gyrus. In addition, meditators showed
significantly larger volumes of the right hippocampus.

Both
orbito-frontal and hippocampal regions have been implicated in
emotional regulation and response control. Thus, larger volumes in
these regions might account for meditators' singular abilities to
cultivate positive emotions, retain emotional stability, and engage in
mindful behavior.

The investigators further suggest that these
regional alterations in brain structures constitute part of the
underlying neurological correlate of long-term meditation, independent
of the specific style and practice of meditation.

Future
longitudinal analyses are necessary to establish the presence and
direction of a causal link between meditation practice and brain
anatomy.

Psychotherapist, author and guided imagery pioneer Belleruth Naparstek is the creator of the popular Health Journeys guided imagery audio series. Her latest book on imagery and posttraumatic stress, Invisible Heroes: Survivors of Trauma and How They Heal (Bantam Dell), won the Spirituality & Health Top 50 Books Award